The Merarite clans were 6200 strong. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. They were appointed to care for the frames, crossbars, posts, and bases as well as posts of the surrounding courtyard, bases, pegs and ropes.
Moses, Aaron and his sons were to camp on the east of the tabernacle in front of the Tent of Meeting, toward the sunrise. They were to care for the sanctuary and anyone else who came near was to be put to death. God only allowed His priests to enter.
So, the total number of Levites was 22,000. Now, when I add 7500+8600+6200 I get a different answer by 300 extra people! I wondered if they took out all the boys 1 month old up to age 20 as in the other tribes? But I couldn't find anything about that. Then I looked back through my bible to see if I missed something. I noticed a footnote from Numbers 3:28 which says that some Hebrew manuscripts list this number as 8300, not 8600. Maybe that's the difference. Then the Lord has Moses count all the firstborn of the Israelites - firstborns are important whether human or animal because we belong to God. This time they counted just the humans 1 month old or more and came up with 22,273. God wanted the Levites to take the place of the firstborn of the Israelites, except there were 273 more than the Levites. To make up for that they each paid 5 shekels for their redemption. God gave the money to Aaron and his sons.
Aaron and his sons were to cover each object inside the sanctuary with special cloths and coverings made of marine animal hide (dugong or sea cow) and prepare them to be moved by the Kohathite men, their number was 2,750. The Gershonite men who moved all the curtains numbered 2,630. The Merarite men numbered 3200. All the men were aged 30-50. Each man was assigned a special task and told what to carry by God.
The command to send away from the camp anyone with an infectious skin disease was repeated. If a man or woman wronged another person they were to make full restitution by confessing the wrong, and returning the full value plus 20% to the person or family. This was in addition to the ram to atone for the sin against God.
Bitter water. The test for an unfaithful wife. If a man had "feelings of jealousy" but no proof that his wife wasn't faithful to him, (or if he did have proof) he could take her to the priest along with a grain offering for jealousy, and have her tested. The test involved drinking bitter water made by the priest from holy water and dust from the tabernacle floor. If she was innocent the bitter water would not bring a curse to her, but if she was guilty her thigh would shrivel and her abdomen would swell. She would be cursed and denounced by her own people. The woman's comment was "Amen. So be it." There's more... which we'll learn about tomorrow.
Next read Numbers 5:23-7:59
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